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June 30, 2014

I'm very excited for the movie adaptation for The Maze Runner by James Dashner! I got the privalage of meeting James Dashner a few months back and he was fantastic! My dear husband, who I drag along to author signings, was even impressed by him (I believe it had something to do with him loving the tv show 24 as well.)

So I thought I'd share a few things recently relieced for the movie.

First the movie tie-in for the book

Next a great sounding companion book -INSIDE THE MAZE RUNNER: THE GUIDE TO THE GLADE. I'm not usually in to these kind of books but I'm interested in this one just because I found the Glade so interesting! Here's a bit about it:

Readers can explore the Glade and uncover the secrets to the Maze in the ultimate Maze Runner movie companion book. This action-packed volume features more than 100 thrilling full-color photographs, up-close profiles of the Gladers, and details about the Glade, the Maze, and more! A must-have for fans of the Maze Runner series, who’ll want to learn all they can before The Maze Runner movie hits theaters on September 19, 2014.

June 17, 2014

Blackbird by Anna CareyMy rating: 2 of 5 starsSUMMARYThis twisty, breathless cat-and-mouse thrill ride, told in the second person, follows a girl with amnesia in present-day Los Angeles who is being pursued by mysterious and terrifying assailants.

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her.

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined.

The Maze Runner series meets Code Name Verity, Blackbird is relentless and action-packed, filled with surprising twists.

I really really struggled with this book. It started with the fact it's written in 2nd person. Perfect for when I would want to give my students both an example of 2nd person AND an example of why it's difficult to read. I tried super hard to get past it and get used to reading a book written in this style. In the end I just couldn't get beyond it. I couldn't take reading things like "you wake up slowly and look around" - "you" do this and "you" do that. I just found it very distracting to me. I might have been able to move beyond it somewhat if I had cared for the main character more. I just didn't. I didn't know enough about her to care about her. She doesn't remember any of her past, so there was nothing for me to build on. Maybe I needed more of the few flashbacks paced earlier on in the story so that there was something for me to hook myself on, but there just wasn't enough. I also found her friendship with Ben a bit to quick and easy. It felt convenient. I couldn't buy into, because this is a girl that is in a very scary place not remembering her past and knowing who to trust. I just found she trusted and went with him to quickly for me to buy into. I really wanted to like this book because I thought it sounded really good, but I couldn't get beyond the 2nd person and there wasn't enough to pull me beyond my frustration with that issue. View all my reviews

June 10, 2014

I'll be honest - I didn't really love this book. It wasn't horrible, but I didn't love it. I decided to read it because I've had a lot of student read it and love it, so I wanted to see what the fuss was about. I think my main issue was that I didn't buy into the relationship between Cassia and Ky. It seemed like she was only interested in him because she was told she couldn't have him. And then it developed to fast. My biggest curiosity was actually about the society itself. If I kept reading the series it would be to find out that whole story not to see more about the romance! Sorry but I just couldn't love this one.

Growing up I LOVED mysteries - real honest mysteries. This book fell right into that genre! What I liked most is that it kept me guessing right up until the very end. I would think I had something figured out and then BAM it wouldn't be right! Or it would be right but there would be a twisted added on to it as well! Perfect :) Also I grew up on the Freddy Krueger and Jason movies - that creep factor. I thought this book had that as well. There were points where, just like when I watched the movies, I was yell "Don't go out there!!!". It was fun to have a throw back, at least in my mind, to those types of movies.

As far as the characters go - liked them all and hated them all but as was intended. Ones I trusted. Ones I didn't. But yet I was never sure I had them figured out right. I found them pretty much realistic and believable. Meg was great. I liked that she was smart and resilient. Made me like her even more.

In the end it was a great fun creepy read. Glad I picked it up! If you like "who done its" I suggest you give it a try.